,., , - "'-=- --' .---I- { fact dirty-lyrics. . . [it] manages to be the martial music of every side- burned delinquent on the face of the earth." The concerned citizen who so testified was Frank Sinatra. The producers who actually put out rhythm-and-blues records were on the fringes of the industry-hustling in- dependents who were sometimes imag- inative in their judgments and almost always creative in their bookkeeping. George Goldner had moved into rhythm and blues from Latin, another fringe. He was known in the business as a good promoter and a bad horseplayer. "1 think in my heart if he hadn't gambled he wouldn't have shorted any- body," Richard Barrett said recently. "But everybody shorts somebody." When it came to handling money that somehow didn't find its way to the black teen-agers who were often both the performers and the writers of rhythm-and-blues songs, the difference between George Goldner and the other entrepreneurs of early rock might have been that the others didn't have horseplaying as an excuse. The Premiers, on their first business trip downtown, were wowed by George Goldner. Thirty-five years later, Jim- my Merchant still had a picture in his mind of what Goldner was wearing: "He had an embroidered shirt, long pointed shoes, and black silk socks. You could see through the socks, they were so silky. He had on a mohair suit." Goldner agreed to record a 45 by the Premiers, apparently squeezing the ses- sion into the dinner break of a record- ing session with a group called the Millionaires. Herman Santiago was still doing most of the lead singing then; the novelty of singing R. & B. songs in a Hispanic accent had been part of the group's appeal to Barrett. But, for one reason or another-maybe because Santiago had a cold that day, maybe because of Goldner's preference -it was Frankie Lymon who was the lead singer of the Premiers at the re- cording session. Except they were no longer the Premiers. When the record came out, in late 1955, the group was called the Teenagers, the lead singer was Frankie Lymon, and the song was one of their own, developed on West 165th Street-"Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" It was an instant, stupendous hit. "Why Do Fools Fall in Lover" went to No 6 on the charts-not the rhythm-and-blues charts, the pop charts. Under their final name- Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers- the group broke through to become a phenomenally successful crossover act. They didn't play the Apollo; they played "The Ed Sullivan Show." (In Sullivan's teaser announcements through the program about what was still to come, he continually referred to Frankie as Frankie Robinson.) The Teenagers were not considered threat- ening to whites-probably because of Frankie, who came across as the sassy, pint-size kid broth- er who would never grow up. Bouncing around in front of the group, Frankie managed to ask all the questions-why do fools fall in love? why do birds sing so gay?-and nev- er quit smiling. The Teenagers came in a squeaky-clean package-processed hair and the sort of clothes familiar from Hollywood campus movies of the forties, including letter sweaters. At one point, Frankie led them in a syrupy appeal to parents called "I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent." Although they never came up with a song to equal the blockbuster "Why Do Fools Fall in Love? ," they had three or four more hits. And they were stars. For thou- sands of other kids singing what some people called street-corner harmony and other people were beginning to call doo-wop, the Teenagers were the mod- el-the proof that a miracle could hap- pen. In a way, the Teenagers were rock stars before the era of the rock star- before it was even clear how rock stars were expected to behave. Jimmy Mer- chant has said, "We were the first people to get out of long limousines with sneakers and jeans on." Stardom lasted almost exactly eigh- teen months. After a tour of Great Britain, Frankie split off to do a single act, and the four remaining Teenagers got themselves another lead singer. Frankie couldn't repeat his hits, and neither could the Teenagers. Frankie had some other problems. His voice was changing-a change that would leave him sounding like a perfectly adequate but unremarkable crooner. Even worse than that, he was a junkie. He did club appearances as a solo for a while, but as his drug problem worsened he had more and more trouble booking jobs. Jerry Blavat, a disk jockey who has always specialized in the songs of the - 73 . ".". "..-: ., - :;f -- .-/ ' - START FIGHTltIì SKIN CANCER tIJW! 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